Ironing machine



W. J. ASHER IRONING MACHINE June 9, 1931.

Filed July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet l gnam@ June 9, 1931. v W. J. Asl-1ER 1,809,467

IRONING MACHINE Filedy July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 j INVENron 7 ATTORN EY June 9, 1931. w1. J. Asl-IER IRONING MACHINE Filed July 8, 192e 14 sheets-sheet' :s

June` 9, 1931.` W, J, ASHER 1,809,467

IRONING` MACHINE Filed July 8, 192e 14 sheets-sheet 4 June 9, 1931. wl 1 ASHER 1,809,467

IRON'ING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 9, 1931. W 1 ASHER 1,809,467

IRONING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1925 14 Sheets-Sheb 6 W. J.' A'SHER IRONING MACHINE June 9, 1931.

`Filed July 8, 1926 lll/11111111111'111111111111 14 Sheets-Sheet '7 @Hof weg June 9, 1931. W 1. ASHER 1,809,467

IRONINGA MACHINE Filed July a, 192e v 14 sheets-sheet e June 9, 1931. W J, ASHER f 1,809,467

IRON'ING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 ulllngL y IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIH 5i @le i 9.a

June 9, 1931. w. J. ASHER v1,809,467

IRONING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet 10 atto: um

June 9, 1931. w- 1 ASHER .n 1,809,467

IRONING- MACHINE Filed July 8, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet l2 .3f mw-Q/mfw N lg w. J. Asl-#ER IRONING MACHINE June 9, 1931.

14 Sheets-Sheefl 13 Filed July 8, 1926 June 9, 1931.v W,J,ASHER y '1,809,467

IRONING MACHINE Filed July s, 1926 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 Patented June 9, 1931 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM J. ASHEB, OF COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO IRoNING MACHINE Application filed July 8h, 1926. Serial No. 121,220.

The present invention relates to poweroperated ironing machines.

In the modern power laundry, it is necessary to handle not only flat articles varying in size and thickness, such as sheets, blankets and .handkerchiefs, but it is also necessary to handle all types of garmentsl which not only `Vary in size, shape and thickness but which often are provided with buttdi/s which should not be broken by the laundry machinery. While satisfactory washing and drying machines entirely capable of cleaningl and drying all classes of wearing apparel andJhousehold goods have been devised, the problem of ironing satisfactorily and without wrinkling all classes and description of household linen and garments has as yet not been entirely solved, altho many attempts have been made to provide `large capacity power driven ironing machines or mangles,

4ments of the trade. -It will be understood that the articles should preferably be ironed upon both sides, should not be wrinkled in passin .thru the ironing machine, should not be subjected to excessive tension and that the buttons should not be broken or torn oft' during the ironing operation. It is a further and important consideration to provide a large capacity -machine which occupies a minimum of floor space since the power laundries are,in general, located in the larger cities where the floor spacefor the various `units is limited. The present invention provides an ironing machine which meets all requirements. It is so designed and constructed as to beable to handle all types of flat work from the largest; such as sheets and blankets to the smallest, such as handkerchiefs of delicate charac- Ifo ter, ironing each article on both sides and delivering it in a smooth and unwrinkled condition. It furthermore is capable of satisfactorily ironing all types of body garments, whatever the texture of the cloth or thickness and regardless of the presencel of buttons,

' without damaging such articles.

more my improved ironing machine has a very large capacity for the iioor space which I 0 it occupies, thus making it a convenientl one to install where Hoor space 1s at a premium.

which meet all require- Further--v It has many features of novelty which will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification and an inspection of the accompanying drawings and these features will, of course, be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

Figure 2 is a plan viewof the same;

Figures 3 to 13 illustrate the mechanism 60` for controlling the pressure rollers, Figure 3 being a longitudinal section thru the machine showing the pressure rollers and their operating mechanism together with the cylinders and aprons but omitting the rest of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 3, the parts however being shown in dilferent positions to illustrate its mode of operation; i

Figure 5 is the transverse section thru the axle of the first cylinder, showing one of the pressure rollers and its adjusting mechanism;

Figure 6 is a `section on line 6-6 of Figure 5; 75

Figure ure 5;

Figure 8 is a section on line 8--8 of Fig-I ure 5.' y Y l Figure 9 is a section thru a portion of the 80 mechanism for operating the pressure rollers.

Figure 10 is an elevation' of a portion of the power operated pressure roller adjusting mechanism;

Figure 11 is a plan view of a detail;

Figure 12 is a plan view'of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 10; Figure 13 is a. section on line 13-13 of Fig- 7 is a section on line 7--7 of Fig- Figure 14 is an elevation, broken away in part, of the power throw-olf and starting mechanism; 1

Figure 14a is a section on line 14a-1490i p Figure 14; "195 Figure 15 is a section on line 15--15 of Figure 14;

Figure 16 is a side elevation of the driving pulley and clutch mechanism shown i-n'Figure 14; 1 0

Figure 14;

, Figure 17 is a section on line '17-17 of l 'Figure 14;

Figure k18 is a plan viewV of a detail; Figure 19'is a section of a detail; Figure 20 is a section on line 20--20l of Figure 19;

Figure 26 ating parts merely rotate about xed axes| nism for adjusting an apron guide roller and tape guide roller associated with the vfirst cylinder; l Figure 24 is a plan view of this mechanism; Figure 25 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine showing details of the mechanism for manitaining predetermined tension in the aprons; l f Figure 26 is a top plan view of the same: Figure27 is a section on line 27--27of Figures 28. and29 illustrate in side elevation and in different positions respectively one of the features of the apron tensioning mechanism;

but, at the same time, it is advantageous to anchor the. base as firmly as possible. The side members 10 and 11 of the frame have numerous openings some of which are provided for the reception of bearings for shafts,

to lessen the weight of the frame and reduce the'expense of manufacture. Two of these openings are indicated at 13 and 14respectively in Figure 1 and it will be understood that' corresponding openings are provided in the oppositeside -10 of the frame. Supported upon the lower edges of these four 'Figure 30 isa plan view of the sama-partly broken away;

Figure 30a is an elevation of portion of the mechanism shown in Figures 25, 26 and 27: Figure 31 is a section on line 31--31 of Figure 32;

Figure 32 shows in elevation. partly broken away, the adjusting means for one of the apron rollers and by. means of Awhich the' roller may be tilted;

F`gure 33 is a section thru the tape supporting and tension adjusting mechanism associated with the rst cylinder; 'l

Figure 34 is a section on line 311-34 of Figure 33; j

Figure 35 is a section on line 35-35 of Figure 33;

Figure 36 is a side view of one of the adjustable gear trains for driving the pressure A and tape supporting Vrollers of the rst cylinder,` together with the adjustable gear guard which is associated therewith;

Figure 37 is a side elevation of a second form of adjustablegear guard; and

Figure 38 is a plan view of a roller of non'- uniform surface for loosening the articles 4ironed by the rst cylinder from the belt associated therewith.-

The general shape ofthe machine will be realized from an inspection of Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and fromthese views it is apparent that all of the operating parts are of a large frame, the frame having a bottom .portion 12 which may be mounted upon a substantial base. Preferably it is mounted upon a concrete-block since the machines are usually of large size, say fifteen feet long by vmounted in the parallel sidewalls 10 and 11 openings are four bearings each of which is indicated generally at B. The opposed bearings of each pair are in axial alignment and receive the cylindrical axial projections 15 of the cylinders 16 and 17 These cylinders 16 and'17- are heated by steam or other heating agent in any well known manner and constitute the ironing cylinders, the cylindrical faces of the cylinders constituting ironing' surfaces for the goods Which pass thru the machine. They are driven in opposite directions from a constantly operating source and at slightly different speeds. Thus the drive gearing is so arranged that in the actual operation of the machine the cylinder 16 is driven vfaster than the cylinder 1 The drive pulley for both cylinders is indicated at 18 and this pulley may be driven byA any suitable source of power, as for instance an apron, an electric motor or other appliance. By means of a clutch mechanism v*indicated generally at C the pulley may be operatively engaged with, or disengagedl from, the drive shaft 19 of the machine. Upon this drive shaft 19 is rigidly secured a pinion 20 which meshes with a gear wheel 21 fixedupon an idler shaft 22. The teeth of-gear 21 mesh with those of a second gear 23 mounted upon an idler/shaft 24. Idler shafts 22 and 24 carry pinions 25. and 26 respectively, which pinions are in engagement with large gears 27 and 28 which are fixed upon the axles of the heated cylinders. Fromthi's arrangement-of gearing it follows that the cylinders are drivenl in opposite directions and at substantially the same speed but it will also be observed that the gear wheel 21 is of slightly less' diameter than gear wheel 23 and, since the pinions 25 and 26y are the same in size, this results in the cylinder 16 being driven at a somewhat faster rate of speed thancylinder 17.

By means of the `clutch mechanism indicated generally at C thedriving power may be applied Or thrown off at the will of the `o erator land this clutch is so designed thattllb mechanical shock due to starting the machine from a constantly operating power member is reduced to a minimum. The details of the clutch are shown in Figures 14, 15 and 16. `The driving pulley 18 has a sleeve-like hub member which is freely rotatable upon shaft 19 which shaft is supported in the frame, one end being journaled in a side frame member and the end shown in Figure 15 being supported from the frame by brackets 32.. Keyed to shaft 19 is a hub 33 having a cylindrical outer surface'y and lhaving at its outer end spaced parallel substantially tangentially extending members 34. The outer ends of these members 34 constitute supports for friction shoes 35 the cylindrical surfaces of which are adapted to bear against the inner cylindrical friction surface of pulley 18. The connection between the friction shoes 35 and members 34 is such that the friction shoes may be adjusted radially to shaft 19 by mechanismnow to be described in order to make or break frictional engagement between the pulley and shaft 19. Preferably bolts 36 rigid with the friction shoes slidably extend within apertures in the outer ends of members 34, as shown in Figure 14, but other connections of this character may be provided ifdesired which permit the friction shoes to be radially adjustable yet maintaining them against movement circumferentially of the shaft 19.

The central portion of each friction shoe 35 is connectedby an adjustable link 37 to a sleeve 38 slida-bly mounted upon the cylindrical outer surface of hub 33. This sleeve is provided with an external groove 39 which, receives inwardly projecting pins 40 of yoke member 41 mounted on the upper end of a lever 42 pivoted at 43 (Figure 16) to a bracket 44 fastened to the frame. By

.means of lever 42 sleeve 38 may be moved axially of shaft 19 and the friction shoes thrust against, or withdrawn from contact with, the constantly running pulley 18.

With the friction shoes in engagement with the pulley, power is taken therefrom and transferred thru members 34 to hu-b- 33 and thence to the shaft 19. The power is not lsuddenly applied since the friction shoes will be thrust outwardly rather slowly by the links to make a gradual frictional engagement with the pulley. This is of the greatest importance in a power throw-olf for a machine of the character under consideration and having a considerable number of operating parts of large size and opposing- I a starting movement with largel inertia forces.

The lower end of lever 42 is connected by a link 45 to one end of a crank 46 mounted upon the end of a rotatable shaft or control elementv 47. This shaftor control element oscillates. lRotation ofthis shaft ina clockwise direction causes engagement o-f the friction shoes 35 with thepulley and starting of the machine, and rotation of the shaft in the opposite-direction causes disengagement of the shoes from the pulley and stopping of the machine. Several independently operative devices are provided for bringing about movement of the control element or shaft 47. Thus this shaft may be operated by an automatic stop mechanism which is brought into action when the hand of the operator, who is engaged in feeding articles into the machine, becomes endangered by moving too far toward the point of introduction of the articles into the machine, or it may be operated by a mechanism in the nature of a hand lever or foot treadle which is entirely'under the control of the operator. Again, shaft 47- may be operated by a control lever which is moved by the operator to effect starting of the machine after the automatic means has functioned'ft'o stop the machine. These three operatiiig devices are Villustrated in Figures 14, y

. The control shaft 47 extends forwardly y from the friction clutch mechanism C to the proximity of the front of the machine where the feeding of the articles to the first cylinder is done. The forward end of this shaft extends thru a bearing in a bracket 50 supported on the frame, this bracket providing two spaced bearings for the shaft that is, a bearing at 51 for the forward end of the shaft and a bearing at 52 for an intermediate portion. is provided witha bevel gear 53 and a small bevel pinion 54. ,Pinion 54 is fixedon the shaft but bevel wheel 53 is mounted upon a sleeve 55 which is rotatable relatively to the shaft this sleeve having a slot 56 formed therein thru which a pin 57 projecting radially from the shaft, extends, the length of slot 56 being approximatel 90, as shown in Figure 21, so that shaft 47 may rotate thru a quarter revolution from the position in which it is illustrated in the drawings, to effect the throwing off of the power by disengagement of the friction shoes from the pulley, without causing rotation of bevel wheel 53. The teeth of bevel wheel 53 mesh with those of a bevel pinion 58 rigidly mount- -.ed upon the lower end of a rotatable shaft 59. This shaft is'disposed substantially vertically, its lower end passing thru a bearing 60 forming a part of bracket 50 and its upper end passing thru a bearing 61 bolted tothe frame, as shown in Figure 19.4 The upper `portion of shaft 59 projects above the frame and upon its upper end'is axially mounted a disk 62 having cam 63 rigid therewith. This cam is shown inplan in to be semicircular with a peak at 64. Againstl the side of the peakpfcani 63 liesa finger Intermediate these bearings the shaft igure 18 and is seen 65 which extends thru and is supported by a rotatable shaft 66. Also mounted upon shaft 66, which extends transversely of the machine and from side to side thereof, are spaced arms 67 which carry respectively the ends of roller 68. This roller directly overlies the feed board 69 of the machine and bears down-- wardly upon the articles which are passed over this feed board toward the first cylinder. In the event that the hand of the operator accidentally passes too far toward the first cylinder it will pass under and elevate theroller 68, lifting finger 65 at the same time and thus disengaging this finger' from the side 64 of cam 63. Immediately upon such disen- Q gagement a coil spring 70 becomes active to rotate shaft 59 in the direction of the arrow X, which results in immediate rotation of the control element 47 in the-direction of the arrow Y, and stopping of the machine.

The spring 7 0 has its upper end permanently connected to the under side of the disk 62 and its lower end permanently connected to y the bearing 61. This latter bearing is rotatable, when its securing bolts 71 are loosened, by inserting short levers into apertures 72` provided for that purpose, in order that the spring tension may be'adj usted to suit operating conditions. The machine having been stopped it can again be started only by actuation of the starting lever 73. The upper end of this lever is provided with a handle portion by means of which it may be easily grasped by the operator and its lower end is provided with an integral sleeve-like portion 74 which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 75 extending transversely of and rotatably mounted in, theframe. Oneface of the sleeve 74 is provided witha projection or tooth 76 which extends within aslot 77 of a sleeve 78 non-rotatably secured to shaft 75. Also fixed on this shaft is a bevel wheel 79 the teeth of which engage with those of the bevel pinion 54 previously mentioned, from which it can be seen. that rotation ofthe shaft 75 in the direction of arrow Z (Figure 22), will cause rotation of control Ishaft 47 in the direction of arrow Y (Figure 14) and hence stopping of the machine. Shaft 7 5 'is normally held in the position in which it is shown inthe drawings, i. e., so that the clutch is engaged, bya forcev developed bythe influence of gravity upon the weight 80 adjustably mounted upon the outer end of an arm 81 projecting radially from a sleeve 82 fixed on shaft 75.`

A treadle bar is illustrated at 83 and the ends of this bar are supported upon rods 84 projecting radially from sleeves 85 rotatably mounted on shaft 75. Only one of these sleeves is shown but it is understood that they' are identical in construction. Sleeve 8,5 has a tooth 86 which projects into a recess or slot 87 in cylindrical block 88 rigidly fastened upon shaft 75. The weight of the treadle 83 is in large part counterbalance'd by a weight 89 adjustablysupported upon a rod 90 rigid with the sleeve`85, The treadle, however, overbalances the weight so that the tooth 86 is normally in engagement with the left hand end of the slot 87, as seen in Figure 22. A collar 91 prevents lateral movement of the sleeve 85 on the shaft.

The action of the automatic stop mechanism has previously been explained. From the description just given, however, it will be apparent that when the control shaft 47 is moved by the automatic mechanism to stop the machine the sha-ft 75 will be at the same time rotated, thru the influence of the intermeshing gears 79 and 54, in the direction of the arrow Z. Since both the starting lever 73 and the foot treadle 84 have lost motion connections with the shaft 75 these members will not be actuated when the automatic stop functions but will remain stationary, the movements -of the blocks 78 and 88, however, bringing the teeth 76 and 86 into engagement .with the opposite ends of the slots 77 and 87. During the rotation of shaft 75 lever 73 is prevented from falling by engagement with the stop 92, while thetreadle maintains substantially the position in which it is shown y in Figure 14, the weightl89 resting on the floor chine stopped and the tooth 76 in engagement with the right hand end of slot 77 (Figure 22) it is only necessary, to start the machine, to move the hand lever 73 in the direction of the arrow W (Figure 14). This not only results in reestablishment of the power connection to the constantly running pulley but also effects resetting of the automatic throw-off mechanism, the shaft 59 being rotated during such movement of the lever 7 3`in a direction contrary to that indicated by the arrow X thru three quarters of a revolution, the finger 65 riding up the face of cam 64 and falling overthe peak of the cam to take the position in which it is shown in Figures 14 and 18.

Normall of course, the machine is stopped and started by means'of the treadle which is within convenient reach of the operators foot. Pressure on this treadle effects rotation of the control shaft 47 but, because of the lost motion connections between shafts 75 and hand lever 73, and between shaft 47 and bevel -gear 53, neither the hand lever nor the autoiently controlled from the point of feeding,.

where the operator is positioned and the various control instrumentalities are connected to the powerl throw-ofi? mechanism with a minimum number of operating parts. These parts are of simple nature, easily inspected, cleaned and'kept in repair and are of type considered 10 stoppage it is only necessary for the operator to press downwardly on either one of the levers 93 which results in upward swinging of supports 67 and release of cam 63 by finger 65. There may be only one of these levers 15 93 if two are considered unnecessary.

Associated with each of the cylinders is an endless apron. The apron of the rst cylinder is indicated at 100 and that of the second cylinder at 101. These aprons are guidedv over rollers hereinafter to be fully describedy and are employed for the purpose -of'holding the articles being ironed in close contact with the cylinders as thecylinders revolve about their axes. The aprons further cooperate in by the first cylinder, to the second cylinder where the-articles are ironed on the opposite side. The aprons may be made of various materials, as isV well known but with the arrangement of pressure andI guide rollers which T employ in the present machine the relatively inexpensive cotton aprons may be employed with very satisfactory results. The arrangement of aprons is most clearl illustrated in Figure 3. Here the end of t e feed board is indicated at 102 and this end is shown to be positioned in close proximity to the first pressure roller 103 yassociated with cylinder 17.

The apron 100 roller 103 moving in by the arrow and articles passingfrom the feed board on to the top of pressure roller 103 are drawn downwardly between the apron 100 and the outer cylindrical ironing surface of cylinder 17. This cylinder is in constant rotation and the endless apron 100 passes around pressure constantly passes on to the same at one point,

' i. e., between pressure roller 103 and the 4cylinder, and is constantly removed at another point, i. e., adjacent the a ron drive roll 104. Very nearly the entire sur ace of the cylinder, therefore; is covered. by the apron and the goods being ironed are tightlyy pressed thereby, during the period of their travel around the cylinder axis, against the cylinder. Tn addition to pressure roller 103 additional pressure rollers areprovided indicated respectively at 105,106 and1107, the function of these rollers beingfsxolely to press the apron tightl against thecylinder. The'rollers are there ore provided with layers of relativelyA softmateri'als on their surfaces, such as rub- -ber or cloth.

: The degree of pressure with 'which the transferring the goods, ironed on one side the direction indicated .easily carried rollers 4bear on the apron may be varied, by means hereinafter to be described, or the rollers may be retracted from the cylinder so as to permit the apron to separate itself from, or to lie loosely against, the cylinderA to prevent overheating and burning ofthe apron when the machine is not in operation. After the articles being ironed have passed around the cylinder 17 from pressure roller 103 to the proximity of the drive roller 104 they are removed from the ironing surface by the doiiing knives 108 mounted upon the transversely extending dofling bar 109. They are next conveyed over and to the rear of cylinder 17 by the apron 100 and its cooperating tapes 110, clearly shown in Figures- 2 and `3. The articles are transported over guide rollers 104 and delivered by the apron 100 to a point adjacent the guide roller 111 positioned intermediate the two cylinders and at this point are for the firsttime also engaged by the second apron 101 which likewise passes over roller 111. Thus held between the two aprons the articles being handled pass downwardly, around the apron tensioning roller 112, under the pressure rollers 113, 114 and 115 ofthe second cylinder to the point 116 where the aprons separate, the first apron passing over the rollers 117,

`118 and 119 and returningto the first cylinder in the direction of thearrow and the secondf apron passing around roller 115 on to the surface of the cylinder 16.

Between the rollers 1 11, and 112 the aprons may have atendency to separate and allow the articles carried ltherebetween to become displaced or wrinkled. To prevent such separation, Iprovide a pressure roller 100 which is supported on an' arm 1002, mounted to swing about a shaft 1003. Rigid with this arm is a weight 1004, the action of which is to increase the natural pressure of the roller. The arrangement is such that, if the aprons stretch and the roller approaches a position vertically below its point of suspension so that its pressure is decreased, the lever arm of the weight is increased and the pressure of the roller against the apron maintained.

After passing around the cylinder the second apron passes over the apron drive roller 120, guide roller 121, adjusting and driving roll 122 and guide roll 123, thence downwardly over the common guide roll 111. The articles, after being ironed by both cylinders arev removed from the surface of the second cylinder by do'liing knives indicated at 124 and discharged on to the surface of a folding board.

As it is desirable to vary the pressure of the yrollers against the aprons" for different classes of articles being handled, as previously pointed out, means is provided byout by the operator. Eachof 1130 

